The St. Johns herald., 1887-11-24
"Run by a Ring."

Under the above euphonlous title, some special writer" in the Daily Citizen of the 17th instant, has de- livered himself of two columns of misstatements, clothed in execrable English.
 This doughty, self-arpointed, champion was either afraid, or ashamed, ofhis bastard, and though this pulling infant has prominent ear-marks, the exact identity of it's father is uncertain. Whether this wholesale attack upon the integrity of county officials, in a foreign journal, by some unknown person, who is unwilling to assume the re- responsibility of his statements, should receive the silent contempt which such anonymous communl- cations always merit, or whether silence might be construed into ac- quiescence, we admit, are more se- rious questions than the effect Of the article itself. If it's author be some "briehess barrister," seeking notoriety; or chronic kicker, court ing infamy, by spreading abroad wholesale abuse of prominent oifi- cials of the county, to the extent of our circulation, we will gratuit- ously advertise them, if he, or they, will furnish their names.
 Whoever he may be, as the bray ing of the ass hidden behind the hay-stack of his own cowardice IS as grating upon the ear, as the song of the burro, in an open view on the hill top, his intention must have been to do injury to the com mon interests of the county.
 Conceding his charges of official corruption to be true; if good citizen, he should aid us in wash ing our soiled linen at home; but being baseless calumnies, his pur- pose could only have been to have struck the assassin's blow in the dark at the good name and fair fame of Apache county, hoping thus to throw obstacles in the path of pending financial negotiations. in- tended and desired by all, to place the credit of the county upon a proper basiss3
 In the former view, he has dis played abominable taste, In the latter case, he has written himself down an enemy of the public good. In either event, We do not envy him his invidious notoriety, for the half has not been told, This boomerang will return, and upon his own de- voted head will be showered the filth and slime of his own creation.
 The reflections upon the private individuals are no concern of ours. We presume that in their own way and at their own time, they will vindicate their good names from the aspersions of this writer who is specially anonymous; but we deem it our duty, as a journalist having the fair name of our county at heart, to briefly notice the calum- nies attempted to be cast upon trusted public officials.
 In the nature of things, the po- litical complexion of our county government, being about equally Republican and Democratic, pre- vents the possibility of a ring. Re- publicans and Democrats, some times separately, but never con- jointly, form rings for any purpose. Each party likes to get ring in the nose of the other, but never, in our political history, have the two par ties, like David and Jonathan, the scriptural lion and lamb, placed  their necks quietly and in good fel- lowship beneath the same yoke for common purpose.
 Isn't it possible that this article is the faint ripple of an approaching attempt to form q little, ti-